Legalized online and mobile sports betting got off to a fast start in Ohio.
The state, which launched legal sports betting Jan. 1, recorded 11.3 million transactions over the course of New Year's weekend, according to GeoComply, which provides geolocation and anti-fraud solutions to the U.S. iGaming industry.
Cincinnati saw the most legal mobile action with just under 1.9 million geolocation transactions, according to GeoComply, followed by Columbus at more than 1.0 million. Cleveland and Toledo tallied 772,000 and 619,000, respectively.
The 11.3 million total cut across 16 sportsbooks offering mobile/online sports wagering, including FanDuel Inc., DraftKings Inc., Caesars Entertainment Inc. and Bet MGM. The figure exceeded the 9.3 million such transactions made in New York over the same 48-hour period from Jan. 1-2.
The action in the Buckeye state came from some 784,000 unique accounts, according to GeoComply.
In addition to access to online sports wagering, Ohioans can now also legally bet at select casinos and speedways, as well as kiosks and windows at restaurants/taverns, sports bars, bowling alleys, and grocery stores that have proper liquor permits and lottery licenses.
Max Bichsel, vice president of sports at Gambling.com Group Ltd., said in a recent interview that the company has high expectations in the state given its loyal and deep-rooted fan bases. Gambling.com receives a conversion fee from participating sportsbooks after customers sign up, make a deposit and then wager.
Bichsel said Ohio, with its sports revenue tax rate of 10% and its multipronged, consumer-friendly approach, could serve as a model for states that have not yet entered the legalized sports betting arena.
"Hopefully, it will all go smoothly and other states that will soon have sports betting — Texas, Florida and California — will look to Ohio and say it did a fantastic job rolling out sports betting across multiple outlets, with statutes that made sense, and that revenues flowed across the ecosystem," he said.
Early Maryland money
Maryland's sports wagering handle totaled almost $219.1 million in November 2022. The figure includes contributions from five casinos and four off-track betting outlets; an eight-hour online demonstration on Nov. 21, 2022; and the official launch of seven mobile platforms two days later.
The mobile sports wagering handle reached almost $186.1 million, but that amount included some $63.8 million in free promotional play from the sportsbooks, which was deducted from their taxable winnings.
The state's wagering regulations do not limit the amount of a sportsbook's promotional play in its first full fiscal year of operation. Thereafter, though, a sportsbook's promotional play amount may not exceed 20% of its taxable winnings from the prior year. As such, those companies will contribute more in the way of taxable sports betting revenues going forward.
Bay State beginnings
A spokesman for the Massachusetts Casino Control said sports betting is now slated to soft launch in three casinos — Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park Casino — on Jan. 30. It will then go fully live via betting kiosks and casino windows the following day. That puts the trio in position to capitalize on the biggest sports betting day of the year: Super Bowl LVII, scheduled for Feb. 12.
Each casino can have up to two mobile sports betting operators tethered to it. Encore Boston Harbor intends to partner with WynnBet, operated by Wynn Resorts Ltd.'s Wynn Interactive LLC, and Caesars Sportsbook. MGM Springfield plans to operate with BetMGM, while Plainridge Park Casino is eyeing collaborations with PENN Entertainment Inc.'s Penn Sports Interactive and Fanatics Inc.'s upcoming sportsbook.
Mobile/online betting is expected to bow in Massachusetts ahead of the March Madness college basketball tournament, which tips March 14.
Six sportsbooks have received conditional approvals in the state: Bally Bet, Betr, Betway, DraftKings, FanDuel and Pointsbet.
Raynham Park and Suffolk Downs, tracks that were previously home to live horse racing and continue to offer simulcast wagering, are also eligible to provide sports betting. The Massachusetts Casino Control spokesman said both entities have indicated they will not be able to offer wagering on an in-person basis by the end of January.
Bigger in Texas?
In terms of states that might legalize sports betting this year or next, Gambling.com CEO Charles Gillespie is eyeing Texas. He noted the biennial Texas legislature meets every odd-numbered year, so there will be another push to legalize sports betting in 2023.
Texas has 11 MLB, NBA, MLS and NFL squads, including the Dallas Cowboys, and a host of colleges. Gillespie said sports is a "primary, cultural focus" among many Texans, as evidenced by their offshore betting activity.
But even if a referendum measure passed, sports betting would not likely be enacted until 2024.
"It would be a small miracle if it launched in 2023," Gillespie said.